


A Lot of Energy and a Cute Smile

by lamerezouille



Series: Camelot-land Comment-fics [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 09:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1977945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lamerezouille/pseuds/lamerezouille
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is <i>famous</i> and it takes Merlin seventy-one days to realise that he indeed <i>does</i> care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lot of Energy and a Cute Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt: _Arthur/Merlin, Arthur's a really famous child star who decides to spend the last year of his education in a normal school. Everybody loves him, except for Merlin, who thinks he's a tosser._ ([here](http://camelot-land.livejournal.com/29729.html?thread=574753#t574753))

(day one)

‘Merlin! You won't believe who just enrolled here,’ Gwen said, as lieu of greetings as she joined Merlin in front of the maths classroom.

‘Who?’ Merlin asked absently as he took out his phone to silence it in preparation for the class.

‘Arthur fucking Pendragon, that's who!’ Gwen exclaimed way more excitedly than Merlin thought the situation warranted.

‘Two questions: who is that? And why should I care?’ Merlin hoped he sounded as uninterested as he was, because such a gleeful Gwen at this time of the morning was a very difficult force to canalise. 

‘One: Arthur is a fucking movie star! He was the chubby kid in this Hugh Grant movie where Keira Knightley dies, and the hidden heir to the throne in the post-apolyptical movie with all the zombies. Two: he's become bloody _gorgeous_.’

Merlin hadn't seen any of these movies, and couldn't care less about a spoilt kid actor who thought it was a good idea to do his sixth form in a regular school. A pampered movie star who obviously didn’t know anything about the real world? The bloke was going to get eaten alive.

 

(day three)

Arthur Pendragon was in Merlin’s French class, and seemed to be doing fine.

There wasn’t a throng of girls suffocating him at every corner like Merlin had half-expected, and none of the usual bullies seemed interested in mocking his Hollywood-blond locks.

People were actually acting very normally friendly with him, and Arthur returned every smile.

Merlin didn’t like it.

 

(day seven)

Arthur was not excessively good in class, but not bad either; a solid average in fact. Merlin had to face the truth: Arthur Pendragon was a normal student with normal marks, and a normal amount of friends.

Also, everyone seemed to genuinely _like_ him. Not even because he was famous or rich or because he gave them stuff, but just because he seemed to be a likeable person.

This should not bother Merlin because Merlin was completely and utterly indifferent to Arthur Pendragon.

And Gwen had been largely exaggerating when she’d call him _fucking gorgeous_. The bloke was maybe a _little_ attractive, but it was in such a conventional blue-eyed, blond-haired, charming-smiled way, Merlin had no idea why anyone would fall for it.

 

(day eleven)

Arthur sat with them at lunch. He talked to them all, and was nice and funny and too bloody _genuine_ to be honest.

Merlin found this definitely fishy.

Also, Arthur kept _smiling_ at him for no reason whatsoever. Even after lunch was over. Even when there was none of Merlin’s friends around.

 

(day thirteen)

Arthur sat next to Merlin in French class, and even lent him his eraser. He also shared a joke about the teacher’s atrocious haircut.

Merlin had no idea what Arthur wanted from him, but he sure wasn’t gonna let himself be messed around.

 

(day seventeen)

Arthur was planning a party at his house. Merlin didn't know what boggled his mind the most:

-that it was actually _Arthur's_ house, like, the deed was in his name and everything,

-that he seemed disconcertingly serious about there being no drugs and alcohol at said party,

-or, that he invited Merlin. Personally. Even before he invited Gwen.

There was no way Merlin would go to this stupid party.

 

(day nineteen)

No, Merlin was definitely _not_ going to this party. He didn't care how adorable Gwen said Arthur was when he asked her about Merlin.

 _Merlin_ sure didn't find it adorable. _At all_.

 

(day twenty-three)

Merlin ended up going after all.

Arthur hadn't told anybody that the party was actually for his birthday, so nobody had brought him any present.

Arthur did give them a few gifts each. They were inexpensive and thoughtful and personalized and how did Arthur know about Merlin's favourite band?

Merlin did say thank you because he hadn't been raised in a barn, but if Arthur expected something else from Merlin, he wasn't gonna get it.

 

(day twenty-nine)

Arthur smiled at Merlin in the chemistry corridor, and Merlin inexplicably smiled back.

 

(day thirty-one)

Merlin didn't like custard, so he gave his dessert to Arthur, at lunch. It didn't mean anything.

 

(day thirty-seven)

Arthur announced at lunch that he would be going away for a few weeks, because he would play a guest character in a Doctor Who episode.

Merlin loved Doctor Who. He didn't quite know how he felt about Arthur, though.

 

(day forty-one)

Arthur left for Cardiff in the morning. He sent a text to all of them to say that he'd miss them.

 

(day forty-three)

Gwen didn't receive the “I'll miss you” text.

Neither did Percy.

 

(day forty-seven)

Merlin did receive a few more texts though.

Arthur told him about little-known behind-the-scene facts, and how nice and funny everyone on set was.

Arthur told Merlin he missed him. Merlin didn't know what he was talking about.

Merlin didn't miss Arthur.

 

(day fifty-three)

French class was particularly boring these days.

Merlin paid extra attention to make sure his notes would be easily understandable for Arthur.

 

(day fifty-nine)

There was custard again for dessert at lunch. It was Gwaine who landed with Merlin's.

 

(day sixty-one)

Arthur was late in French class the day he came back to school. He'd gotten an haircut that made him look a bit too severe for his soft smile, and looked beyond tired, but his smile was blinding when he said hello to Merlin.

 

(day sixty-seven)

Arthur told Merlin he _liked_ him-liked him, and Merlin freaked out.

Gwen told Merlin he was an idiot.

Merlin did feel like an idiot.

 

(day seventy-one)

Arthur kissed Merlin.

Merlin kissed him back. They walked to French hand in hand.

Perhaps Merlin did like Arthur, after all.


End file.
